Mysterious Figure Of The Night
by Amberxsupernova
Summary: Riku.. oh how I love you so.       Kingdom Hearts Characters  c  Whoever made it which is not me
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Sora! Want to go one more round before heading in?" Riku said, he and his best friend were sitting at the dock on Destiny Island, watching as the bright sun was going down, changing from yellow to orange to a romantic shade of red.

"No thanks.. I'm too tired. I think we both need a break" Sora pat his best friend on his back, and watched as Kairi stood up.

"Sora's right. You two were having fights all day, it's about time we all head inside and get some rest" The redhead said, and smoothed down her hair as a breeze blew it around. The waves crashed against the dock, and spent a light spray of water against their skin.

Sora stood up with a smile. "I'm going to get some food too. I'm starving" The thin boy pat his stomach.

Riku stood up as well along with his friends, his silver hair blew gently against his face. "Dinner was only an hour ago and you're already starving. I swear, your stomach is a bottomless pit" He ruffled the boys wild brown hair, and started walking off the dock to the sand.

The 17 year old boy walked along the soft sand, leaving Sora and Kairi to walk back to their own shacks together. The trio didn't want to go back to the town for the night, and felt like spending the night on the island. The sun had gone down by the time Riku made it back to his room, and he flopped down onto his bed, pulling his shirt off as he did so.

"Man.." He said to himself as he rolled over and looked out of his window, seeing off into the jungle area where he and his friends have had many adventures when they were younger. The jungle was quiet, and Riku could hear the oceans waves from his window, it made him feel at peace.

Riku had started dozing off, that was, until he saw some movements in the forest. He figured it was just some wildlife of sorts, but his curious mind kept his from looking away. The boy strained his eyes trying to see the figure, it was moving around quickly, darting in and out of trees. The figure ran past a more lit part of the outer forest, and that's when Riku finally realized it was a person, a female. He was craning his neck out the window, practically hanging out of it, trying to figure out who it was. He knew it wasn't Kairi, the person had longer hair than her, longer hair than most of the girls in the area. Before Riku could even think about leaving his shack to go follow her, the figure had disappeared into the jungle, leaving Riku confused and lost in his own thoughts. Once again, all he could hear was the sound of the ocean waves, and all he could see was the dark, still jungle. Riku laid back, his silver hair flaired out on his pillow as he stared up at his ceiling, his curiousity getting the best of him. He couldn't decide whether he wanted to go out and search, or if he should wait until the next day and tell Sora and Kairi about his little discovery. Was it someone from the town? Maybe someone from another world? Curse his curious mind. Riku closed his eyes, and after much annoyance, fell asleep and woke up to the bright sun shining down on his fair skin.

"Hey Riku! Get up, lazy!" Kairi yelled from outside, Sora was beside her.

"Come on, we're going swimming today! Hurry up!" Sora had started looking around for a coconut to throw in the window, when Riku looked out, rubbing his eyes. "I'll be down in a few minutes. I've got something to tell you guys" He hopped out of bed, and lazily threw on clean clothes.

As Riku made his way out of his shack, Sora and Kairi were watching a hermit crab walk along the sand. Riku towered over his two younger friends, watching as the hermit crab made his way back into the ocean. Riku cast a dark shadow on the sand in front of his friends.

"So, what was it you wanted to tell us?" Sora said, he got up and brushed some sand off his clothes.

Riku rubbed the back of his neck. "Well.. last night I saw something in the jungle. I think it was a person.. looked like a girl. She had really long hair"

Kairi looked up at him. "Really? A lot of the girls around here have short hair. Maybe she's from a different world?"

Sora smiled. "We should go find her~! Maybe she's from Agrabah.. or Halloween Town!" Sora looked excited, maybe it was one of his friends from those worlds.

Kairi chuckled at how ecstatic Sora was about all this. "I say we should go look. Are you up for it, Riku?"

Riku shrugged, but inside, he was. "I guess so. I just hope she's not a wanted criminal or something"

Sora didn't hear what Riku said, and neither did Kairi, do to the fact that Sora was blabbering on and on about going on their adventure, and that they should wait until night to go search.

Riku looked up at the bright sun, and shielded his eyes from it's intense rays. He knew that night would probably either turn out to be a total bust, or quite interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

"Sora, what are you wearing?" Riku asked as he stared down at his best friend, who had on what looked to be a safari hat with binoculars hanging from his neck.

Sora was looing into the jungle, and used his hand to block out the sun, not paying attention to Riku. Kairi, who was sitting on the sand next to him, spoke.

"He said he really wanted to set the mood today. This is his way of doing so, I guess"

It was sunset now, and the sun glowed across the calm water as it sank deeper and deeper into the darkness of the sky. It was a warm night, with cool, gentle breezes, and the trio was reeved up and ready to search.

"Riku, you don't mind if we search all night, do you?" Sora said, trying to tease the older boy.

"You're the one we should be worried about, Sora. You'll probably fall asleep and I'll be forced to either carry you back, or violently wake you up" Riku said back, without hesitation.

Sora stuck his tongue out in response to Riku, and Kairi flipped on her flashlight.

"Come on you two! We've got a girl to find!" The young redhead scurried off into the jungle, and Sora quickly followed behind her.

Riku flipped on his own flashlight, and quickly caught up to his best friends. The jungle was still and peaceful, the only sounds were the waves in the distance, and the sticks that snapped under their shoes. Kairi shined the flashlight directly in front of them, while Sora monitored the sides and Riku kept watch in the back.

A few times, Sora thought he saw the girl, but he always ended up being wrong.

"Sora, that's the fourth time you thought you found her, and you're always wrong!" Kairi exclaimed, as she shined the flashlight in Sora's face.

Sora clamped a hand over Kairi's mouth. "Look"

He pointed at Riku, who was shining his flashlight into a clearing, lit by the moonlight. Laying off to the side, beneath a tall tree, was a young woman asleep on the crisp grass. She had long, wavy hair only slightly darker than Sora's, and fair skin like Riku and Kairi. She had on a long white summer dress, and was barefoot. The trio shut off their flashlights, not wanting to risk waking her up in any way.

Sora whispered as quietly as he could manage. "Should we wake her? Sleeping out here isn't safe.."

Riku just stared at the girl, he'd never seen her before so he was right about her being someone new on the island, but because her outfit was so simple and plain, he couldn't figure out what world she might have been from.

"Yeah.. let's wake her up" Riku said after a few seconds, and stepped into the clearing. Kairi and Sora followed directly behind him. 


	3. Chapter 3

Riku leaned down next to the girl, Sora and Kairi stood by his sides. Sora looked down at her, and was about to poke her cheek to wake her up but Riku slapped his hand away.

"Wake her up gently, Sora"

Sora sat on the grass and gently nudged the girls arm. "Uh.. hey, miss? Sleeping out here is dangerous.."

The girl slowly sat up, and blinked her eyes open. She had bright, forest green eyes.

"Huh.. o-oh!" She quickly stood up, and brushed some grass off her dress. "Who are you three?" She asked, nervously.

Kairi smiled. "I'm Kairi. The one who woke you up, there" She pointed to Sora. "That's Sora. And this is Riku" She gestured to Riku, and looked down at the girl, his head tilted somewhat.

"Oh.. hello.." She said, she still looked nervous.

Sora stepped in front of Riku. "Where are you from? And what's your name?" He said, hoping to make a new friend.

The girl took a step back, only to hit the tree behind her. "Ah.. my name is Aiko. And I'm from an island not that far from here.. I took a boat here"

Sora looked at her wide eyed. "Woah, an island not too far from here? So there's an island.. part of this world?"

Aiko nodded shyly. "Yes.. it's called Fate Island.."

Riku smirked. "Ironic"

Aiko looked up at him, confused, but stayed silent. Kairi stepped in front of the boys. "So, did you run away from home?"

Aiko calmed down somewhat, she was glad to talk to the female. "I suppose you could say that.. not for any negative reasons though, I wanted to see more of this world"

Sora smiled. "Hey, you're my kind of person. We'll get along great"

Kairi chuckled. "He's right. The three of us used to be so interested in other worlds, and traveling outside this island.. Riku and Sora got to see more worlds than I did"

Aiko's eyes widened for a moment, and she smiled. "Really? Can you tell me more about them all?" She looked at Sora, and Sora linked his arm with Riku's, who just let his arm dangle there.

"We can tell you everything about it~" Sora said with a big, goofy grin on his face.

Riku was thinking, about how the girl had no place to stay because she left her island, and he was sure if Sora wasn't so excited to have a new friend he'd be worrying about that too.

"Hey Aiko, it's not safe to stay out here at night, all by yourself" He said, and hoped Sora would take the baton from there.

Hook line and sinker. "Riku's right! We need to get you a shack, like we have.. or you can stay with Kairi~"

Kairi shrugged, and smiled. "She can stay with me, it'll be fun. Do you want to?"

Aiko smiled. "Absolutely.. you three are probably the nicest people I've ever met" She chuckled, and Riku just watched her, it was interesting how she was able to venture off of her island by herself, almost like how Riku had ventured into the darkness those many months ago.

Sora gave Riku a playful punch. "Quit staring, pervert~" He smiled, and Riku glared down at him, which made Sora take off running back towards the shacks, and Riku chased after him.

Aiko and Kairi were laughing as they watched the two goofballs run off, and Kairi looked at Aiko. "Think we should go stop them?"

Aiko smiled. "Yeah, that might be a good idea"

Kairi lead Aiko over to the shacks, just in time to watch Riku toss Sora into the ocean. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Riku, Sora! Come on, get your butts over here, we need to get Aiko settled in! Plus, Riku, bring me one of your extra blankets from your shack, I only have one blanket and Sora uses all of his" Kairi yelled over to Riku and Sora, who were both in the water wrestling around.

Riku looked over, and was holding Sora by the collar of his shirt. "Oh, well, alright. Let me go get that now then"

Riku dropped Sora back into the water, and ran out from the ocean; his silver hair clung to his pale face. Aiko watched as he ran out of the water, like a god of moonlight coming out from the sea. When she realized what cheesy thoughts she was thinking, she blushed violently and was thankful for the dark sky.

"Come, we'll go to my shack while Riku grabs the blanket. Let's go, Sora!" Kairi called to the brown haired boy, who was still pouting in the water.

He dragged himself out and went over to the two girls, and shook out his spikey hair which, miraculously stayed in place even when wet. "I'll get Riku back, I swear it" He tried to look serious, but even Aiko could tell Sora was just a kind-hearted, playful boy.

"Alright, time to move out" Kairi said, and started walking to a door made of pieces of the surrounding trees, the door that led to Kairi's shack. She pushed open the door and lead Aiko up the small set of stairs, up into a small, cozy little room with an amazing view of the ocean. There was just enough space for both of the girls, and to Aiko's surprise, the shack had electricity. She flicked on the light and went under her bed, to pull out a blow up mattress.

"I use this when Sora has a nightmare and doesn't want to be alone, and Riku won't allow him in his shack" Kairi smiled, and Sora stuck his tongue out.

"My nightmares can get intense, you know that" Sora crossed his arms, and both Kairi and Aiko laughed at the spikey haired kid, he was too adorable.

"Hey, I brought the blanket" Riku stepped inside, holding up a big thin blanket.

Aiko smiled. "Thank you, Riku" She took the blanket, and Riku nodded his head. "My pleasure"

Sora was already getting immature, but cute, ideas in his mind about Riku and Aiko, and knew he'd have to discuss a few things with Kairi.

"Alright, come on Sora let's let the girls get changed and get some rest. Tomorrow we can learn more about Aiko and have some fun"

Sora smiled. "Good idea, you two sleep tight~" He said, before walking out of the shack with Riku, who shut the door behind him.

Kairi pumped up the air mattress and set it up nicely for Aiko, and Aiko gave Kairi a hug. "Thank you, this really means so much to me"

"Don't worry about it~ we love making new friends and learning new things. We just hope you're comfortable here"

Aiko chuckled. "I'm already very comfortable here. You're treating me so nicely" Aiko said, then climbed onto the air mattress and slid under the blanket Riku gave. It had a sort of masculine scent to it, with a hint of detergent which made her smile.

Kairi shut off the lights and climbed into her own bed, and both of the girls fell asleep to the sound of gentle ocean waves outside the window.

The next morning, the two girls had gotten up early and were ready for the day, and met Riku and Sora outside on the beach. Sora looked at Kairi and had a mischievous look on his face, then looked up at Riku. "Hey Riku, want to show Aiko the cave?"

Kairi already knew of the scheme Sora was planning, and was actually completely game for it.

Riku shrugged. "Sure... let's go" He wasn't aware of what was going to happen, and neither was Aiko, who just silently followed them.

Sora and Kairi let Riku and Aiko go first, and without warning, Kairi and Sora quickly found a large rock to cover the small hole, and pushed it with all their might in front of the hole.

The darkness that fell around Aiko and Riku made both of them jump, and Riku went to the rock and pushed. "Damn it, Sora..." He mumbled under his breath, when he couldn't get it open.

Aiko blushed. "Ah... they trapped us in here" She mumbled, pointing out the obvious.

Riku looked at the embarrassed girl, and placed a hand on her back. "Come this way, there's late at the end of the cave. We might be here for a little while..."


	5. Chapter 5

It took Aiko a few seconds to really realize what had happened, and when she did, her body tensed up.

"Ah, Riku?" She said, and pouted as she heard Riku chuckle from behind her.

"Don't worry, just walk forward. The cave ends within a few feet" He nudged her upper back, telling her to walk.

Aiko did what he said, and after a few seconds, she pushed past what resembled a curtain of vines into the wide end of the cave. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, which was lit by small flame torches. The first thing she saw was an odd door, with a large lock on it, too big for any normal key.

"Riku, what is that?" She asked curiously, and Riku sat down beside a rock with scribbles drawn on them with chalk, the pictures resembled Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

"That door... well, it was sort of the beginning to mine and Sora's adventures" Riku said, with a smile on his face.

Aiko sat on the cool ground in front of Riku, "Adventures? When you and Sora got to visit other worlds?"

Riku nodded his head yes. "Yeah, but we can talk about that later, back when we're with Sora and Kairi. I have a question, though"

Aiko crossed her legs out in front of her, and was looking at all the other doodles on the walls. "What is it?"

Riku picked up a piece of chalk near him. "Do you plan on staying here, or going back to your island?"

"Well..." Aiko hadn't really thought about it. "I think... I want to stay here. There aren't any opportunities on my own island, and I like this place better"

"Well if you plant o stay here, you'll need a place to stay, you know" Riku said, and brushed chalk dust off his hands.

Aiko tilted her head. "Find a place? Couldn't I just live out in the wild? That's how things were in my island, it was underdeveloped"

Riku was about to say something, but Kairi and Sora stepped in, Sora looked disappointed.

"We've been listening to you talk this entire time, and it's boring. We thought something interesting would happen" Sora said and plopped down next to Riku.

Kairi laughed. "Sora, only YOU thought that. I just felt like going along with it"

Riku pushed himself back onto his feet, and put his hands in his pockets. "Hello Kairi, when school starts up again, do you think Aiko could stay at your house?"

Kairi smiled. "Of course she can. So you're going to school with us?"

Aiko ran her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, I guess I am" She giggled. "I'll be in the 11th grade"

Sora smiled. "Hey, you'll be in the same grade as Riku then"

Aiko looked at the silver haired boy, who was leaning against the rocks. "Oh?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah, we will be. I'll show you around, and you know, help you get used to the place"

Aiko smiled. "Thanky ou very much, Riku"

Riku smiled too, a very small, cute smile. "No problem, Aiko" 


	6. Chapter 6

Only a few weeks later, the four friends finally were headed off to their first day of school. Aiko was beyond thankful that the school supplied uniforms for their students with financial issues, and that as long as she kept her grades high any school events will be paid for in full.

Aiko and Kairi walked out of Kairi's home, dressed in their blud plaid skirts and white button down blouses. Kairi was letting Aiko use her old school bag for her books, and for the time being, Aiko would be borrowing most of Kairi's clothes for outside of school.

"Kairi, I'm kind of nervous... I've never been to school before" Aiko said as they walked down the street, the girls were headed to Sora's house to meet up with him and Riku.

Kairi chuckled. "Don't worry too much about it. It's a small school, plus you'll have Riku helping you around"

Aiko smiled softly. "Oh yeah.. you're right. I'll be fine~"

Over the last few weeks of the four friends talking, Aiko's come to realize how much Riku cares for his friends. They told her their whole story about the key blade, kingdom hearts, and everything they had gone through individually. Riku had risked his life for his two best friends, and hearing Kairi tell her that he'd help her around school reassured her beyond belief. She started day dreaming now as she walked, wondering if Riku would ever care about her the way he cares about Sora and Kairi.

"Hey Kairi, hey Aiko!" Sora's peppy voice brought Aiko back to reality.

Behind him, stood Riku, both boys were wearing a button down white shirt with a plaid tie, the tie matched the girls uniform skirts, and gray pants.

"Hey Sora, Riku" Aiko said as both her and Kairi walked up to the boys.

Riku smiled somewhat. "You ready for your first day, Aiko?"

Sora gave her a big, bright grin. "This is going to be fun~ The four of us best friends going to school together"

Kairi laughed and pinched his cheek. "Don't forget, Riku and Aiko are a grade ahead of us, so we'll only get to see each other at lunch during school"

Sora smiled and Kairi put her hand down, the four of them laughed. "At least we'll get to see each other at some point" Sora said, and rubbed his now pink cheek.

The four friends started walking to the school now, which was only a few blocks over from their current location. Once they arrived at the front door, Riku looked over at Aiko.

"Come with me, we'll go get your schedule from the office" He said, and Kairi and Sora chuckled quietly.

"We'll head off now to our home room. See you guys during lunch" Kairi said and waved her hand.

Aiko was now left alone with Riku in the hall as people were pushing past them, trying to find their classes or lockers. Riku placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It's this way, stay near me so you don't get lost" He said, and Aiko felt somewhat pleased at his show of concern.

Riku showed her to the office and she picked up her schedule from the secretary, who looked less than pleased at having to find her schedule. Riku took out a crumple piece of paper from his backpack and looked from his paper to hers, and chuckled. "Look at that. We've got a lot of classes together, all except History"

Aiko felt immense relief at that, knowing she wouldn't be alone for most of the school day, and on top of that she'd be with Riku of all people. Everytime she thought about him, she had to mentally slap herslf or else she'd start day dreaming. There weren't any guys she was attracted to on her island, and she'd be lying if she said Riku wasn't attractive. She'd never admit it out loud, though.

"Hey, heres our home room" He said, and brought her into a small room. "It's also the English classroom"

Aiko looked around the room, there were only 6 desks. "Wow.. there really aren't many people in this school is there?"

Riku chuckled. "Nope, not at all. Come on, let's go sit in the back"

Aiko followed Riku all the way to the back and he sat in the farthest corner, while Aiko sat beside him. "Do you always sit in the back?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah, pretty much"

Things got silent after that, she wished she had something to talk about with him. A few more people came in, and Riku said hi to only two of them, the rest seemed to be strangers to him.

Once the teacher came in, everyone sat up and watched as he passed out fliers. "As you all should know, the beginning of the year dance is in 2 weeks. Now If I had any choice in the matter, I would cancel it.."

Aiko didn't listen as the teacher talked about his dislike for school dances, and she looked at the paper in hers hands. The whole school was allowed to attend, which meant Sora and Kairi would be there too. Aiko snapped back to reality when she heard Riku talk to her.

"Hey, you should go. School dances are kind of fun" Riku said, and stuffed the flier in his backpack.

Aiko blushed somewhat. "Ah... I don't know. I'm not really a dancer"

Riku chuckled. "Niether am I. But it's still fun to go and hang out with friends. I know Sora and Kairi will want to go"

Aiko smiled somewhat, and now, she's day dreaming again. Would he ask her to be his date? Should she ask him? Do they even bring dates to these things?

The day went by rather quickly, all except for her first History class before lunch where she was alone without Riku. She pulled her way through it, and soon, she was in the lunch line with Sora, Kairi, and Riku. Sora was talking about his science teachers funny comeover with Riku, and Kairi looked at Aiko.

"So Aiko, are you going to that dance? I gave a nice dress you can wear" Kairi said as they stepped forward in the slowly moving line.

Aiko blushed lightly. "I don't know.. probably, if you three are all going"

Kairi smiled. "Sora and I are going as a couple. What about you and Riku?"

Aiko blushed more deeply now. "W-what about me and Riku?" She was thankful that Riku was distracted by Sora.

Kairi chuckled knowingly. "I've seen the way you stare at him sometimes. I think you should talk to him about it"

They made it to the front of the line, and Aiko couldn't stop thinking about the dance. She reached for the same apple that Riku was reaching for, and their hands touched, making her blush lightly again.

Riku chuckled when he noticed it and set the apple onto her tray, then followed Sora over to a table beneath a tree. Kairi smiled to Aiko, nudged her in the ribs, and followed the two boys. Aiko had a lot of thinking to do now. 


	7. Chapter 7

A week had passed, and the two ladies were now in Kairi's room, getting ready to head to the school dance. Kairi was smoothing down the park purple dress she wore, while Aiko was trying to decide which shoes to wear with the light blue dress she had on. The competition was a pair of white flats, or low white heels, and it bothered Aiko that she usually couldn't care less about her shoes, as long as they did their job and protected her feet.

"Aiko, go for the plain white flats. Although, I doubt Riku will even notice them" Kairi teased, knowing Riku wasn't exactly the type to notice things like that. Either that, or he just never felt like saying anything about it.

Aiko's cheeks turned pink. "Kairi, I just want to look nice. My choice has nothing to do with what Riku will think" Aiko lied through her teeth, and slipped on the flats.

"You and I both know you like Riku. You stare at him like he's a god" Kairi said, and chuckled as she pictured the way Aiko looked at Riku during their lunch hour.

Aiko stayed silent now, knowing it was a lost cause to argue with Kairi. Especially seeing as she knew the truth. It didn't take long for them to finish getting ready, and when they walked outside they were greeted by Riku and Sora. Both boys were dressed in simple suits, and Aiko had to distract herself by saying the alphabet in her head, to avoid staring at Riku. Sora walked up to Kairi with an excited smile on his face, and held his arm out to her.

"Hello ladies~ Are you ready to go?" He asked, and Kairi linked her arm with Sora's.

"Yeah, we're ready~" Kairi replied, and the two walked ahead of Riku and Aiko.

Riku stepped forward in front of Aiko, and held his arm out to her the same way Sora did for Kairi.

"Let's go. We don't want to be late" Riku said, and Aiko wrapped her slimmer arm around Riku's more muscular arm.

After walking down the darkening streets of their neighborhood for a few minutes, they could soon hear music being played in the direction of the school.

"Huh.. Looks like the dance is being held outside this year" Riku said, and Sora smiled.

"Great~ That means they'll have the fire torches lit" He started pulling Kairi, and he ended up tossing her up on his back and ran towards the school.

Riku laughed at his best friends antics, and walked with Aiko to the school normally. They were right, because outside, the dance was in full swing and had a tropical theme to it. They were in a field used for sports, and shoved in the ground were a bunch of brightly burning torches. A large piece of flooring was placed on a section of the grass, to be used as a dance floor, and most of the school was already dancing and enjoying the night. Sora wasted no time bringing Kairi to the dance floor, and danced to the slower song with her.

Aiko watched from where she was, and smiled softly. "Sora really likes her"

Riku moved his arm and took Aiko's hand. "Come on, it's our turn to dance"

Aiko blushed lightly, and walked over to the dance floor with Riku. The flames from the torches made his hair shine, and his green eyes lit up on his fair skined face. He placed one hand on her waist, and held her hand with his other hand. Aiko felt her heart racing, and as soon as they were about to start dancing, a dark portal appear beside one of the torches, and from inside the darkness, Maleficent's laugh could be heard echoing as she approached the exit.

"Oh man... why tonight?" Sora said, and moved Kairi behind him.

Riku did the same to Aiko. "Stay behind me" He said, and watched the portal as the tall, evil woman stepped out of it, followed by a small army of Heartless. 


	8. Chapter 8

Aiko looked out from behind Riku, and the tall woman with dark clothes laughed, and looked at Sora.

"We meet again, Sora" Maleficent said, with a devious smile on her face.

Sora scowled, and crouched down in a sort of action position. "What are you doing here, Maleficent? I thought you were done bothering us" He said angrily.

"Oh, Sora, I don't think I'll ever be done bothering you. You always seem to be in the way of something I want" The various forms of Heartless looked like they were dancing around her. "This time, I will defeat you before going after my prize"

While Sora was crouched, he put his hands together and after a small flash of light appeared around his hands, he was weilding a giant key, that had a little key chain in the shape of a mouse head. Riku, on the other hand, and was now holding a sword, a weapon much different from the one Sora was holding.

Maleficent lifted her hand, and pointed her long finger nail at Sora and Riku. "Attack, my heartless!" She commanded, and the little minions surrounding her ran towards the two boys.

All of the other dance guests ran off screaming, and found places to hide. Sora yelled to Kairi. "Kairi, go!"

Kairi shook her head, looking at him like he was stupid. "Don't forget the promise we made! Wherever you go, we all go! I'm staying right here!"

Sora would have said something else, but had to swing his keyblade to knock out a good 5 Heartless that were heading his way. Kairi and Aiko took a step back, only to almost trip over someone very small behind him. They turned to look at the being, and it turned out to be a black mouse with big ears, holding two swords. One sword had a flower theme to it, and Kairi smiled like she had seen it before.

"Quick girls, I want you to take these and help out Riku and Sora" The mouse said, and held the swords out.

The opposite sword, had a vine theme to it, with a blade covered in thorns. Kairi took the flower sword, and the mouse pushed the vine sword into Aiko's hands. "Be careful. You don't know how these beings are"

Kairi held the sword tightly, while Aiko stared dumbfounded at the mouse speaking to her, and the deadly looking weapon in her hands. Kairi spoke to him. "Thanks, King Mickey. I'll show her what to do"

King Mickey tipped his head to Kairi and Aiko, and disappeared. Kairi placed a hand on Aiko's shoulder. "Come on, just swing around at the Heartless. You help Riku, and I'll help Sora"

Before Aiko could say another word, Kairi was already at Sora's side, fighting like a pro and taking out every Heartless she swung at. Aiko knew she couldn't just stand there like an idiot, and she ran over to where Riku was, and watched the way everyone else fought, and tried to do as they did. Monkey see, monkey do. She realized that every time she swung, a few thorns would fly off her sword and impale a Heartless, and it would be taken out instantly. Riku looked over at her as he slashed through a larger Heartless, and smirked.

"You're not doing too bad, Aiko. But don't lose focus" Riku said, and of course, made Aiko lose focus as she looked up at him.

A Heartless came up on her side, and Riku ran over and sliced it in half, and it faded away. Aiko was blushing, mostly because of the way he made her lose focus, and it made him laugh. "I told you"

Before Aiko could retaliate, he was already fighting off a new swarm of Heartless. Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Aiko all worked together to fight off the army of Heartless Maleficent kept sending their way, and with the four of them working together, they were able to go after Maleficent next, and the moment Sora's keyblade touched her, she recoiled and stamped her staff on the ground.

"You simply got lucky again this time, Sora. One of these days, you won't be so lucky!" She shouted, and disappeared into the darkness behind her. The few remaining Heartless disappeared into the ground, and the night was quiet as the students peeked out from their hiding places.

It wasn't silent for long, because Sora pumped his fist in the air and jumped up. "Yeah~! We won all over again~" He lifted Kairi into a hug, and she let her sword fall onto the ground and hugged him back.

Riku walked over to Aiko, and looked down at her with those shimmering green eyes she couldn't help but adore. "You did pretty well out there, Aiko. But I think you could learn a lot"

Sora looked over. "Hey Riku, why don't you teach her a few things? Tomorrow there is no school, so we can all go to the island and do a little practicing"

Kairi nodded her head in agreement, and already knew Sora didn't plan on joining Riku and Aiko tomorrow. "That sounds like a good idea. Who knows when something might pop up again"

Riku looked over at Aiko, and smiled a little. "I've got plenty to teach you. I'm a better fighter than Sora is, you know" He said, just wanting to bust Sora's balls, and it worked.

Sora set Kairi down. "No way! I'm the weilder of the keyblade, remember? I'm the better fighter!"

The two started having a best friend to best friend argument, while Kairi and Aiko laughed at the two boys.

"You'll get to spend some alone time with Riku tomorrow, Aiko. Don't forget that" She said, while nudging Aiko in the ribs, and almost made her topple over.

Aiko blushed, and watched as Riku's silver hair bounce around his face, as he began chasing Sora down the street. 


	9. Chapter 9

Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Aiko stayed at the dance for a while longer, although the fun had somewhat vanished due to everyone being so shaken up by the Maleficent attack. Once the dance had really came to a halt, the four began walking down the street, not wanting to go back home just yet, but not really having anywhere to go in mind. They just walked and talked, and enjoyed the cool night air that blew against their skin.

"Hey Riku, are you going to let Aiko use Way to the Dawn~?" Sora asked, and chuckled at Aiko's confused face.

Riku looked at her, and laughed too when he noticed. "Way to the Dawn, it's my keyblade," Riku explained, "We'll see if your heart is strong enough, after some training"

Aiko, not knowing what that meant, just kind of stared at him and the three laughed, making her feel a bit embarrassed. Kairi explained it all to her, while Riku and Sora talked about the various things that Aiko could learn from them, and it made Sora wonder if one day, Aiko would get to meet King Mickey.

Before they knew it, they had made it back in front of Kairi's house, and it was time for the four of them to part ways. Sora gave Kairi a hug goodbye, and when he thought Riku and Aiko weren't watching, he gave Kairi a kiss on her cheek. Riku and Aiko turned to each other and laughed, then gave Aiko a tight, one armed hug. Aiko started blushing when her cheek was pulled against Riku's chest, and she could felt his muscles through the thin clothes he was wearing. She felt small in his big arms, and it made her feel… safe, and happy.

"Alright, see you tomorrow for the training Aiko. Be ready, 'cause I won't go easy on you" Riku teased, but he was somewhat serious. He rarely goes easy on a person.

Aiko laughed and nodded her head. "I'll be ready to go. Kairi, will you be there too?" Aiko asked, and Kairi smiled as innocently as she could.

"Of course I will. Sora will be there too" She said, and at least she wasn't completely lying.

Aiko believed her, and the two girls walked inside while the boys headed off down the road to their own homes.

~Next day~

Aiko and Kairi met Riku and Sora on the island, the two boys had decided to fight each other and get warmed up. Riku was able to take down Sora, and Sora pouted as he stared up at Riku.

"Hey, you cheated" He accused, although he knew it wasn't true.

"Sora, don't be such a sore loser. Now get up, before a crab goes down your pants" Riku held out a hand to his best friend, who took it and quickly pulled himself up off the sand.

"Hey you guys!" Kairi said, and waved as she ran over to them, Aiko stayed on her heels.

Riku and Sora looked over, and both smiled at the girls. "Hey, ready to begin?" Riku said, talking to Aiko.

Aiko nodded her head, and looked at Kairi who was whispering to Sora, and she shivered at Sora's smile, because she knew he was up to something.

"Riku, Aiko, Kairi and I are going to do some training on the other side of the island, so you two can practice on your own and we won't be in the way~" Sora said, and took Kairi's hand.

Before Aiko or Riku could respond, Sora and Kairi were already hurrying away hand in hand, and left Aiko face palming. Riku just laughed, and looked at Aiko.

"We ought to get stared now. Here" He handed Aiko the blade she had used the day before at the dance, the one with vines and spikes on it.

She held it tightly in her hands, and without warning, Riku went after to her and used the handle of his own blade to trip her, and she landed flat on her back on the warm sand.

It took a few moments for Aiko's mind to register what had just happened, and she looked up at Riku who was holding his hand out to her. "I told you, Aiko, I wouldn't hold back" Riku said, and smiled down at her.

The sun made Riku's hair look bright silver, and his green eyes shimmered down at her from behind the silver locks that always fell in his face. Aiko took his hand, and was blushing lightly.

"Oh? Embarrassed that I was able to knock you down so easily?" He chuckled, and Aiko just nodded.

"Y-yeah… but I won't let my guard down now!" She said confidently, and held up her blade to him.

Riku smirked at this, and the training began.

Aiko and Riku trained for quite some time, and they didn't realize how much time they had spent until they noticed the sun setting.

"I think that's enough training for one day" Riku chuckled, and both of their blades disappeared.

Aiko's body calmed down from the adrenaline rush she had while training with Riku, and Riku pointed to a small island that was attached to the main island by a bridge. A tree was on the island, leaning far down.

"While we're out here, want to watch the sunset, Aiko?" Riku said, and Aiko's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, that sounds nice" She smiled, and Riku walked with her over to the tree.

He leaned against it, and Aiko leaned against it beside him. The sun was setting slowly, and she watched out of the corner of her eye as Riku gazed at it, obviously appreciative of the beauty. Sora and Kairi watched from the distance, and Sora whispered to her.

"This is boring… I've got an idea" He smiled and explained it all to Kairi, and she was completely on board.

The two swam up onto the island Aiko and Riku were on, and crawled underneath the tree. Without warning, Kairi shoved Aiko while Sora shoved Riku, and both of them landed in the gently moving ocean. Sora and Kairi ducked out of sight before they were seen, and Aiko watched as Riku sat up in the water, and flipped his silver hair out of his face.

"You know, I should have expected this" Riku said, and looked over at Aiko with a smile.

Aiko was laughing, and wiped off the water dripping down her face. "That was actually fun. Unexpected, but fun" She said, and Riku watched her wring out the water from her hair.

The sun was almost done setting behind Aiko, and as she looked back over at Riku with water dripping down her cheeks, Riku leaned over to her, the water splashing around them, and kissed Aiko softly on her lips.


	10. Chapter 10

Aiko's body felt light and airy, like she was walking on a cloud. The sun had almost completely gone down now, and there was only a sliver of soft glowing light showing. Riku had placed one hand on the small of her back, with his other in the water to hold himself up. Aiko had her arms wrapped around his neck loosely, and was milking the hypnotic kiss for all it was worth.

After a few seconds, the two pulled away simultaneously, and Aiko was the first to speak. "Wow..." Her cheeks were light pink.

Riku chuckled, and stood up in the water. "I agree" Was all he said, and he pulled her up. Both were soaking wet now, and the moment they were up on their feet, they were tackled by Kairi and Sora.

"It's about time you two~ I know this would happen!" Sora said with an ecstatic smile, and Kairi was hugging Aiko.

"And I knew he'd take a liking to you, Aiko" Aiko was still blushing, and Riku smirked.

"Oh, so you were into me for a while now...?" He raised a silver colored eyebrow, and the four of them started laughing, already knowing the answer to that.

"Alright come on everyone, before we catch a cold let's go change into dry clothes. Then we can watch the stars~" Kairi said, and hurried out of the water while Sora chased her.

Riku looked over at Aiko, and in one swift moment, had tossed her over his shoulder as if she was light as a feather.

"Riku~! Ah, don't drop me!" Aiko said in between her fits of laughter, and Riku just hopped out of the water with a smile on his face and the water dripping off them like they were each individual waterfalls.

The girls went into Kairi's shack, while the boys separated and went into their own. In a matter of minutes, the girls came out with their hair left wet and in dry clothes, same as the boys.

"Let's head over to the island and watch the stars from there. It's a beautiful view" Kairi said, and held Sora's hand.

Riku held his hand out to Aiko, and she took it graciously. All four walked to the island. and while Riku and Aiko sat atop the leaning tree, Sora and Kairi sat beneath it. The stars were twinkling overhead and as far as their eyes could see, and it made them all feel at ease.

"Hey, check it out. A shooting star!" Sora said and pointed, and both girls immediatly closed their eyes. Sora and Riku did as well, and once they were done, Sora smiled.

"I wished for an ice cream sundae~" He said with his usual adorable smile, and after the four of them shared a laugh, Kairi and Sora shared a kiss, while Riku and Aiko did as well.

~THE END~


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